An Ohio minimum-wage worker who works 36 hours a week every week during 2005 will not qualify for unemployment compensation. That will be the result of the eligibility requirements for 2005 just released by the Ohio Department of Job & Family Services. Under a formula that ties eligibility to the state average weekly wage, workers will have to average at least $186 a week over a minimum of 20 weeks, up from $181 this year.

Ohio's earnings test is among the highest of any state in the country. It means that a worker may earn as much as $9600 next year and not be eligible for benefits.

A study released earlier this year by National Employment Law Project and Policy Matters Ohio examined what would happen if Ohio's requirements were changed so that those making at least $100 a week for 20 weeks would qualify for benefits. It found that an additional 352,000 individuals, or 6.8 percent of the state's workforce, would potentially be eligible should they become unemployed.